The useful distinction: If you both use iPhones, Apple Find My is the simplest start because it is already on your phones. If one of you uses Android, Google Maps location sharing works across both platforms. Both support arrival alerts, and basic sharing in either product needs no separate tracking subscription.
Table of contents
For a couple choosing a location-sharing app, the first question is which phones you use. Find My is a practical starting point when you both use Apple devices. Google Maps offers location sharing across iPhone and Android. Both handle everyday sharing without a specialist tracking subscription.
The second question matters more than the feature list: do you want to coordinate one journey, receive an arrival alert, or keep an ongoing share? Those are different arrangements. Set up the smallest one that answers the question you actually have, and agree on it together before either of you turns anything on.
This is a comparison of documented features, not a battery, accuracy or field test. Vendor pages describe their own products in favorable terms, so this guide sticks to what the official documentation says each product can do, and what each of you should verify on your own phone.
Choose by the job, not the longest feature list
| Your situation | Starting point | Detail to check |
|---|---|---|
| Both use iPhones and already use Find My | Find My | Which device supplies each person’s location |
| One uses iPhone and one uses Android | Google Maps | The correct Google account and sharing recipient |
| You want an arrival or departure notification | Either supported setup | Alert permissions and the other person’s awareness |
| You only need to coordinate a meeting | A time-limited share | When the share ends |
| You need a specific paid feature | Research that feature separately | Availability, subscription terms and data handling |
Find My: per-person shares on Apple devices
Apple’s Find My sharing instructions describe sharing from the People tab and choosing a duration. In Me, check Sharing From. If the selected device is an iPad left at home, that is a different arrangement from sharing the iPhone you carry.
Set up each direction separately if you both want to share. Seeing your partner’s location does not prove that your own location is visible to them. Open the two relevant screens together and confirm which account is shown in each direction.
For a short experiment, choose a limited duration rather than immediately creating an indefinite share. Then ask whether the information helped with the task. If you only needed to know when someone would arrive, an ongoing map might be more information than the arrangement needs.
One detail worth knowing: Apple says that when two people share with each other, both have an iPhone 15 and are near each other, Precision Finding can guide them to each other’s exact spot, and the person being found receives a notification. So even the close-range feature is mutual and visible, not a quiet way to check on someone. See Apple’s Find My and location sharing guide for how these pieces fit together.
Google Maps: the cross-platform route
Google describes what a recipient sees in its location-sharing documentation: your name and photo, the device’s recent location even when Google apps are not in use, battery status and charging state, plus arrival and departure times if the recipient adds a notification. Sharing remains separate from Timeline. Turning Timeline off is not the same as ending a share.
Open Maps on your phone, select your profile and review Location sharing. Check that you are using the intended account, especially if you have work and personal accounts on the same phone. Choose the recipient and duration offered by your setup. Note that Google requires the recipient to have a Gmail account for account-based sharing, and its help page asks you to add the person’s Gmail address to your Google Contacts first.
A link is convenient when someone cannot use the normal account-based route. It also changes the boundary: a recipient can forward a link, and link-based viewing does not support arrival notifications. Before using one, read the duration and access information on the sharing screen. Do not treat a copied URL as though it were a private invitation locked to one person’s identity.
Arrival alerts exist in both products
Google Maps can notify you when a person sharing their location arrives at or leaves a place. Its notification documentation says the sharer receives an email when you add an alert, plus a push notification if Maps notifications are enabled. The feature is unavailable for certain accounts and for location viewed through a shared link.
Find My also supports location notifications. Apple’s notification guide distinguishes a one-time alert from a repeating one; recurring notifications require the other person’s approval. Apple also documents a Notifications About You section where you can review alerts other people set about you and delete the ones you do not want.
Neither option is a silent way to monitor someone. For the buttons, permissions and missing-alert checks, see our arrival-alert setup guide. Agree on the place and purpose before adding notifications, particularly if an alert would reveal a routine rather than help with a single trip.
Third-party apps: what they add beyond the built-ins
The built-ins cover the core jobs, so a third-party app has to earn its place with something specific. Vendor pages describe features such as private two-person circles, place alerts, location history and driving reports. Life360, for example, presents its Circles as groups that can be as small as two people, alongside place alerts, SOS alerts and driving reports on its couples page. Device Tracker Plus advertises place alerts and a shared location history for looking back at recent weeks.
Treat these pages as advertising, not as independent verification. Before installing anything, confirm three things: that the feature you want actually exists on your phones, what the subscription costs and renews at, and how the vendor stores and shares location data. A longer feature list does not make an arrangement more reliable, and every extra app is another recipient list you must review later.
Temporary link sharing is worth a separate mention. Some apps let you send a link that shows your live position in a browser for a preset time and then expires, with no account needed on the receiving side. That pattern suits one-off meetups such as festivals or airport pickups. It does not replace an ongoing share, and the same forwarding caution applies as with any shared link.
Run a small check together
Once both people have chosen to share, check the setup while you are together. Confirm the account names, chosen duration and source phone. Each person should know where to end the share without having to ask the other to do it.
Then use it for an ordinary journey. Read the timestamp rather than treating the dot as a continuous video feed. If the report is old, ask whether the phone has connectivity before concluding that someone went elsewhere or changed a setting.
Decide on a fallback for the question that prompted the share. For example: if an expected arrival notification does not come, send a message or call rather than repeatedly refreshing the map. This is an arrangement you choose, not a reliability guarantee from either app.
Make ending the share part of the setup
Before you settle on an app, find its stop-sharing control. A tool is easier to trust when both people understand how access ends. Check the recipient list again after the trial and remove any share you no longer want.
On Apple devices, distinguish removing a person from temporarily switching off all sharing. Re-enabling a master switch can restore visibility to previous recipients. Our Family Sharing troubleshooting guide explains that distinction and why a device appearing in a list is not proof that its location remains shared.
If the relationship itself is ending rather than the trial, the review is wider than one app: accounts, shared albums, calendars and other services may still grant access. Our checklist for access an ex may retain covers that broader audit.
Choose Find My if it fits the Apple devices you already use, or Google Maps if you need the cross-platform route. Keep the duration and audience explicit. Adding more apps creates more places to review later; it does not, by itself, make a sharing arrangement more reliable.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Maps support arrival alerts?
Yes, for eligible account-based location shares. Google says a recipient can add a notification for arrival and departure times, but the feature is unavailable for certain accounts and for location viewed through a shared link. Check your account type before relying on it.
Does sharing automatically work in both directions?
No. Seeing your partner on your map does not prove your own location is visible to them. Each direction is a separate share with its own recipient and duration, so open both phones together and confirm each outgoing share by account name.
Which app is more accurate?
This guide names no accuracy winner, because that would require a controlled comparison on the same phones, routes and conditions. A map that looks more detailed is not evidence of a better underlying location report. Read the timestamp on each report instead.
Do we need the same phone brand to share location?
No. Find My is the natural route when you both use Apple devices, but Google Maps location sharing works between iPhone and Android. The recipient needs a Gmail account for account-based sharing, so confirm which Google account each of you uses.
Can we share location for one evening only?
Yes. Both products offer a choice of duration on the sharing screen, so pick a limited share for a single trip or evening rather than starting with an indefinite arrangement. Check when the share ends and remove it afterwards if you no longer need it.
What should we check before paying for a third-party app?
Check whether the paid feature exists on your phones, what the subscription terms say, and how the vendor handles your location data. Confirm the free built-ins cannot already do the job, since arrival alerts and ongoing sharing are covered by Find My and Google Maps.
